This discovery has thus led some North Korean historians to conclude that the mausoleum was discovered and renovated during that period.

However, modern Korean historians doubt the truth of the these records for various reasons.

Korean historians generally make these arguments:

Seito's account is generally regarded as pseudo-historical by Korean historians.

Lee Ki-baek (1924-2004) was a leading South Korean historian.

However, mainstream Korean historians reject the existence of Hwanguk altogether, for the lack of credible evidence.

Traditional Chinese and Korean historians believed that his motive was simply his thirst for power.

His book has been widely criticized as distorting the facts by both Japanese and Korean historians.

Now some South Korean historians, political scientists and politicians are taking up the same theme.

In the process of trying to reject Japanese colonial scholarship, Korean nationalist historians have adopted many of its premises.